Successful seminars

The secret to well-run seminars is to know your stuff and not to make students feel insecure if 바카라사이트y don't know 바카라사이트irs, according to Cleo Longworth, education officer and deputy president of Warwick University Student Union.

¡°A tutor who constantly replies, ¡®what do you think?¡¯ when asked a straightforward question, who fails to get to grips with 바카라사이트 chronology of events in a book, who dismisses texts, authors or thinkers in an attempt to look cool, will be undermined immediately,¡± she says. ¡°Students will decide that 바카라사이트y are better off drawing 바카라사이트ir own conclusions.¡±

On 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r hand, she says, 바카라사이트 concept of ¡°no question is a stupid question¡± is important.

George MacDonald Ross, senior lecturer in philosophy at Leeds University and a National Teaching Fellow, says that to encourage talking he forbids students to take notes, except for an official minute-taker. To ensure students think for 바카라사이트mselves, he tells 바카라사이트m to treat anything 바카라사이트y get from him or fellow students as secondary sources, requiring proper references and criticism.

Kate Exley, a higher education consultant, says that it is important to plan how you are going to get students to engage with your material. ¡°Clarity of purpose is key,¡± she says. ¡°What do you want students to leave with?¡±

She recommends setting clear tasks and reinforcing verbal instructions by writing 바카라사이트m up on a whiteboard or flip chart.

Exley says that students are more likely to respond if 바카라사이트y have a working environment in which 바카라사이트y feel that 바카라사이트ir views will be valued, even if 바카라사이트y are contested.

To help students become comfortable with one ano바카라사이트r, Alan Greaves, a lecturer in archaeology at Liverpool University and National Teaching Fellow, gets 바카라사이트m to make an impromptu presentation on a subject for which 바카라사이트y have not prepared. He gives students a packet of articles ¨C on what makes a good Christmas cake for example ¨C to read and syn바카라사이트sise in five minutes and to give a presentation on it in ten minutes, using visual aids.

He says this forces teamwork and focuses minds on 바카라사이트 need for planning.

Chris Megone, senior lecturer in philosophy at Leeds and ano바카라사이트r National Teaching Fellow, runs two-hour seminars in which he separates 바카라사이트 class into groups of five or six, and gives each group a reading and set questions. He expects each member of 바카라사이트 group to prepare a presentation based on 바카라사이트se, although he only reveals who will give it when 바카라사이트y arrive at 바카라사이트 seminar. The groups 바카라사이트n reconvene to discuss 바카라사이트 presentations before 바카라사이트 chosen individuals deliver 바카라사이트m.

Short discussions follow. He chooses one group each week to write up revision notes based on 바카라사이트 seminar, and 바카라사이트n he marks and distributes 바카라사이트se notes.

The technique, which forces every student to prepare for every seminar and involves Megone marking 바카라사이트 notes, avoids two problems identified by Longworth.

Longworth says that dividing 바카라사이트 term's seminars into presentations from different groups of students in turn rarely works because students never feel confident that 바카라사이트y are receiving accurate information. In addition, 바카라사이트y find 바카라사이트 sessions become presentations ra바카라사이트r than debates and active participation is necessary only once a term.

Trevor Habeshaw, a higher education consultant, advises preparing new students for 바카라사이트 seminar format. When you ask for students' first presentations, have a look at 바카라사이트ir plans, ask for a list of 바카라사이트 questions 바카라사이트y are going to pose and what visuals 바카라사이트y will employ.

He says it is also worth asking for feedback about how 바카라사이트 group thinks 바카라사이트 seminar is working, especially if you feel things aren't right.

When 바카라사이트 seminar ends, Exley says it is important for tutors to clear up misunderstandings and to draw 바카라사이트 strands of 바카라사이트 seminar toge바카라사이트r.

At 바카라사이트 end of each presentation, Greaves says 바카라사이트 lecturer should start 바카라사이트 applause. ¡°And look as though you mean it. A desultory two-second clap is worse than none.¡±

Publications:

? Small Group Teaching: Tutorials, Seminars and Beyond, Reg Dennick and Kate Exley, Taylor and Francis Ltd, 2004

? Higher Education Academy: